Chinese geologists question safety of Brahmaputra Mega-Dam in Tibet being built over active seismic fault line
A study by Chinese geologists has found that an active fault line beneath the world’s largest hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet could
A study by Chinese geologists has found that an active fault line beneath the world’s largest hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet could affect its structural stability, raising questions over Beijing's repeated claims that it would help prevent disasters in the region. The project is close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. The scientists said a fracture in the Earth's crust in the eastern Himalayan region could significantly affect the structural integrity of the massive hydropower project's infrastructure, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday. In a paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal Sedimentary Geology and Tethyan Geology, the researchers said the Paizhen Fault, which has been highly active since the Pleistocene, or Ice Age, “will have a major impact on the structural stability and construction of nearby structures, including dams, roads, bridges and tunnels, as well as the reservoir area." The study was supervised by the state-owned China Geological Survey. According to the researchers, prolonged fault activity has fractured and weakened the surrounding rock formations, making the foundations and structural stability of nearby engineering projects more vulnerable to damage. "The Paizhen area is located within the reservoir area of the Yarlung Tsangpo downstream hydropower station," the paper said.
China refers to the Brahmaputra as the Yarlung Tsangpo. China formally began construction of the $167.8-billion dam on the Brahmaputra in Tibet last July. Expected to generate more than 300 billion kWh of electricity annually, the dam is projected to meet the annual power needs of more than 300 million people. The dam is being built in a massive gorge in the Himalayas where the Brahmaputra makes a sharp U-turn before flowing into Arunachal Pradesh and later Bangladesh. China went ahead with the project despite enormous engineering challenges, as the site lies along a tectonic plate boundary that experiences frequent earthquakes. The Tibetan Plateau, often described as the "roof of the world", is prone to periodic earthquakes because of the movement of tectonic plates beneath it. The researchers cited the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Milin in Tibet in 2017 near the northern end of the fault as evidence that the fault remains seismically active. "Under regional seismic action, landslides and collapses can easily be induced, threatening the safety of engineering facilities and personnel," they said. The recent findings add to concerns over the project's structural safety, with the researchers urging engineers to reinforce vulnerable slopes and install retaining structures to reduce the risk of landslides and collapses.
The BriefWire